working management

[xracer]

In our center we have a problem with management doing hourly work covering full time runs during summer vacations. Greivences have been filed but the problem persists, wondering if anyone has any suggestions that may help?

 

[trickpony1]

Why aren't the grievances working? Where's your union BA?
Try getting the BA's attention by asking him, "since the grievance procedure obviously isn't correcting the problem can we file with the NLRB?."
That might wake him up.
How about attending a union meeting and stepping up to the microphone?

 

[switchoff]

You would actually be doing management a favor. I know the sups in my bldg HATE going on road to cover routes.

 

[feederdude]

Switchoff is 100% correct. The supervisors are held accountable for their workgroups. When they are performing unit barganing work, they are still required to keep up with the daily/weekly/monthly tasks that their division mgr. is demanding. It is either a human resource problem, or the staff doesn't know, or doesn't care since the packages are flowing. Make the company aware, so the staffing is corrected.
It isn't that they are above performing the work, they should respect the folks doing the job everyday, which builds the missing ingredient, which is TRUST.
Feederdude

 

[mojobuc]

"The supervisors are held accountable for their workgroups. When they are performing unit barganing work, they are still required to keep up with the daily/weekly/monthly tasks that their division mgr. is demanding. It is either a human resource problem, "

Staffing has been an issue in the building I worked at for the entire time I was there.

I can say that as much as I thought I was going to have to bust my a.. the last week, staffing FINALLY was up to par, and I told the new p/t sup. to enjoy it while it lasts.
1 girl that worked a week, had already came to me about quitting, 2 loaders were heading out to drive, and 2of my 3 best unloaders were going to the loading area, since I was leaving.

Xracer, you would have hated me, but made plenty of money off me. I was one of those, but felt getting the job done on time, helped everybody.
Didn't think it was fair for the drivers, who were going to be asked to get the airs out on time no matter what, had to listen to any b.s.
or it wasn't fair to ask the good workers to do a 'little more' to carry the sorry , or wasn't fair to me/other p/t sups to listen to my friend/t and manager 'hey, whats going on?' all because hr sends inferior workers, OR MORE LIKELY, the p/t sup in charge, me, couldn't train them properly.

But I can say that the friend/t union steward knew I cared and for what ever reason, he and I had a great professional relationship.
Though he owes some beer for any money he made off me.

 

[marteleqqn]

In my builing, pt loaders do not file grievances because they have no idea what it is or how to do it. They do not like there shop stewart because he is very rude and treats them like garbage. Its pretty pathetic. As a pt sup, I find myself having to tell them things about there union...in which I shouldn't have to do. I have a good group of workers...we have fun and we get the job done. They dont say or do anything when I have to cover a set by myself.

 

[toonertoo]

And I did not give you the 1 star, but....
Martele, and mojo, while your intentions are/were good, all you do when you perform hourly work, other than in a REAL emergency, aka no other pters available due to excessive absenteeism, etc, is take jobs away. By doing the work yourself you make their numbers appear that x workers do the numbers instead of the x number it called for. Your time is seldom counted into the equation. And you are still required to do your job, plus an hourly, and then if mgmt wont let you get the OT to finish your job, they just excelled in squeezing more blood out of a rock.

(Message edited by toonertoo on August 14, 2005)

 

[marteleqqn]

That is true Toonertoo, but those are the only reasons why I have to work due to call ins and no call/no shows. Yes they do nag us to be off the clock in 5.5 but if I have to finish what I'm doing , I'll finish it regardless. It's hard to finish what I have to do in 5.5 when the preload shuts down in 5.5. My working for free days are over. I remember those days when they did not care how long we worked and now that we have ptrs, their making sure that we don't work ot.
I never cheat myself when filling out my timecard just because my manager is getting yelled at for pt hours. About the numbers. I have to fill out a timecard everytime I perform an hourly job and that time has to be added into the operation hours. So say the hours for my line should be 45.65, well with one hourly not working then that only leaves 40.15, but once I add the hours that I was there performing the job, then that puts it right back at 45.65.

 

[anonloader]

In my hub, PT and FT sups consistently do hourly work in the morning. On one hand, I know that they're taking away hourly jobs. But our building churns through half a dozen new hires every week. Retention is so poor that we're constantly short handed.

At the same time, there are quite a few loaders who run out the door as soon as they've wrapped their trucks. This leaves no one to do things like run irregs & missorts, help wrap other loaders, etc. I see loaders dump a cart of NDAs (bad spa, missort) at the clerk station and walk out the door at 8:15 am. When every loader left on the clock is still wrapping his own trucks, there's no one besides management who will take care of the premium pieces.

It seems that union solidarity goes out the window when it comes to helping out fellow workers... solidarity apparently only counts when we're trying to collectively screw the company.

Other things I see PTers do that really pisses me off:
*irreg runners dump packages at the head of the line rather than running them down to the proper truck
*package runners charge the boxline at 8:15 am after it's been down for 1.5 revs... loaders think they've cleared all the bins and end up missing everything the runner dumped...usually NDAs
*package runners dump their entire cart for the full belt (~40 trucks) into a single bin at 8:15 am.

Of course, mangement does their fair share to piss me off:
*making an add/cut off of trucks at 7:45 am
*making an add/cut onto a truck at 7:45 am and never telling the loader to expect it

 

[toonertoo]

Martele, thats good dont work free. I wasnt aware there was a way to input your hours as back when I was pt sup (1986-92), we didnt have a card to punch. So there is some improvement in that area. Im glad you are all getting paid now. Glad you have a good crew, I had one of the best.